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MarShon Brooks and Bench Key to Nets Winning Ways

January 6th, 2013 at 5:27 PM By John Hood

With time winding-down on the shot clock in the second half of the Nets matchup with the Sacramento Kings, MarShon Brooks went into his fancy dribble mode. Using his lengthy arms, Brooks performed a low cross into a behind the back before finishing off the move with a half-spin into a fall-away jumper with the defender in his face. He sunk it as the shot clock expired.

The revival of Brooks and the Nets bench has given the PJ Carlisemo era a jump-start in Brooklyn. Since taking over as the interim Head Coach, PJ Carlisemo is 5-1 overall. In those six games, the Nets bench is averaging 34 points per game. In the six games prior under Avery Johnson, the Nets only averaged 23 points per game. The Nets were 1-5 during that stretch. Veteran shooting guard, Jerry Stackhouse was receving major minutes since under the helm of Johnson but Carlisemo has swapped in Brooks for him during the six game stretch. During the last six games, Brooks is averaging 10 points a contest in which he plays at least five minutes, giving the Nets the extra go-to scorer they need when Joe Johnson is not in the game. But its not just Brooks that has elevated his game. Andray Blatche has continued his stellar play and Mirza Teletovic scored a career-high 14 points Saturday night against the Kings. The Nets benched scored 50 points against the Kings and were able to give the starters a much needed rest after a grueling double-overtime game against the lowly Washington Wizards. Only one Net, Reggie Evans, played more than 30 minutes against the Kings while the rest of the starters were well below their average minutes per game. Brook Lopez still lead the team in scoring with 18 points, despite only playing 16 minutes. The Nets bench is responding under Carlisemo and the biggest breakthrough has been Brooks. But in order to keep up the winning ways, the Nets bench needs to remain consistent and Carlisemo must remain at the helm. Tags: Basketball, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Nets, NBA